The demand for keyword analysis tools and statistics in recent years has exploded. There are many free keyword research products on the market, but a lot of them use Overture data, which can be annoying when you want more "natural" unique results from more than one source. The following is a list of free keyword analysis & search tools I have used as part of my own research (out of some 40 or more I have used and tested) and found offered good to excellent results. They are in no particular order, offer various functions & uses, with only my favorite listed at the top.

1. Wordtracker (Best) They offer a free week trial (at last check) and free weekly keyword lists sent to your inbox. While you will have to pay a subscription if you want to have continued access to the database after your week is up, it's well worth it. This is my favorite keyword analysis tool of all and has really made a difference in the way I write for the web & promote my websites. Yes, I'm an affiliate - and proud of it. http://our.affiliatetracking.net/wordtracker/a/15090

2. NicheBot This service connects to the Wordtracker database and retrieves the top 15 results for a keyword along with related keywords. Useful if you can't afford Wordtracker, but will take much longer to collect a large amount of data. It can also search Overture, has a thesaurus, keyword analysis and more. http://www.nichebot.com/

2. Google Sandbox This has it's flaws (such as no search counts - BIG flaw), but is still worthy and actually can be quite useful when used with other keyword tools. Taking results from the Sandbox, copy and paste them into another research tool like Wordtracker to give extra results as well as search counts. https://adwords.google.com/select/main?cmd=KeywordSandbox

3. Google Suggest This keyword tool is good for checking to see how much competition a keyword has, but for me makes a great tool to find low-competition keywords and phrases. In finding low-competition keyphrases,

it's important to put quotation marks around the phrase when evaluating competition. http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1

4. Overture Keyword Tool This long-running keyword analysis tool has been a favorite of many people for years until the keyword business picked up speed and new, more powerfully accurate services like Wordtracker became available. The biggest flaws with this tool is that it jumbles up keyphrases and removes what it deems are "irrelevant words", so you're not getting an accurate picture of what users are typing in. Add to that, you only get the first 100 results. I use this tool mostly to get quick counts on search terms more than anything else, but will sometimes take results and feed them into Wordtracker for complimentary results. http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

5. Teoma (Ask Jeeves) This may not be an obvious source of keyword data, but with a little playing around you might find it is actually pretty useful. Here's what you do: Type in a keyword and submit. When the results appear, look to the top right corner. There's where you'll find a small list of related searches. Click on 'show all refinements' and you'll get a full list of related keywords and keyphrases. You can continue exploring keywords by clicking on them. http://www.teoma.com/

6. RhymeZone While it doesn't give you results from actual searches, it is a great brainstorming tool for new keywords and keyphrases you might want to use within other keyword research tools. It searches anagrams, rhymes, related words, similar sounding words, and more. http://www.rhymezone.com/

7. eBay Popular Items eBay is a hotspot for keywords, with well over 2 billion searches every month. If you're looking for hot selling products, ebay has an entire directory for everything from Asian Pottery to Xbox 360. Now while each page lists hyperlinked

top-selling products, the real "list" is located above those links. Pay close attention and you'll see it's not your "average" description. http://popular.ebay.com/ Another area on eBay you might want to check out it is: http://keyword-index.ebay.com/A-1.html

8. Search.com Top Searches This site offers a glimpse into the top 1000 keywords, updated weekly I believe. Good for keeping track of weekly search trends. This is a personal favorite. http://www.search.com/top?tag=se.fd.topnav.top

9. Keyword Live This handy freeware displays the top 100 live searches. Start it up and let it run. The only flaw I saw was not being able to save results or even copy them (unless it's just me!) http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/keyword.htm

10. Hixus Keyword Inventor This free software runs right from your desktop and takes Overture keyword searches one step further. It will collect results from the first page of Overture results, and then will collect more related results for your keywords. While it's not the most advanced tool, I felt it worthy to mention just because of it's ability to collect more than 100 results without having to do extra searches manually at Overture. http://hixus.mmau.com/keywordinventor.html

I'd love to hear about your own favorite keyword tools and software. Leave a comment and check back often for new tools as I add them.

http://www.CaroleNickerson.com

About the author:

Carole Nickerson has been a web developer and internet marketer since 1998. She now spends her days actively filling up her new blog with all she has learned. To find more keyword research tools & tips, or post a comment, visit: http://www.CaroleNickerson.com

Selling Real Estate on eBay
Copyright 2005 MHG Consulting Selling real estate over the internet may sound like an awkward idea. However, the exposure the real estate...

Ebay Shipping - 10 Tips To Start Right
There are about as many different ways to ship ebay items as there are ebay sellers. That being said, there are many eBay sellers who don't ship...

Keeping records of your Ebay business: Part 4
The base for any business to survive over the long term, especially an ebay powerseller business, is to keep accurate detailed records of...

How to Make Money on ebay Auctions
"Going once, going twice...", that is usually the phrase associated to the traditional practice of auctioning. This has indeed changed with the...